


Thorns, Dawns and Sad Songs

by Squirt95



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Cheating, Eventual Smut, F/M, Friendship/Love, Growing Up Together, Investigations, Kidnapping, Murder, Requited Love, Sexual Fantasy, Strong Language, Test of Time, dirty cops
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-22
Updated: 2013-08-24
Packaged: 2017-12-24 07:19:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/936954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squirt95/pseuds/Squirt95
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jon sees what has been in front of his eyes his entire life with Val.</p><p>Sansa learns that titles aren't everything and Arya learns more about adulthood than her brothers would like.</p><p>But the world is dark and full of terrors and the murder of Ned Stark will through his children through it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Out with the Old

Ned remembered Val and Jon when they were little, like winter summer they were, but still the best of friends. Jon with his dark hair and darker eyes, and Val with her blonde hair and blue eyes, looking at them, they didn’t seem like they were close at all. Yet they made pinky promises and kept childish secrets like any other friend. Jon friendship with the girl was different from the friendship he had with Robb, for, as Ned suspected, there was a bit of a bitterness towards his half-brother that Jon never showed.

That was the problem, Jon had to hold things back with Robb and Theon and even his little friend Gendry, but he didn’t with Val. Ned had suspected that they would grow apart, as most boy-girl friendships did when the children became teens, but nay, they stayed close as ever through relationships, moves, fights… the whole nine yards. Of course, he had never allowed them sleepover at each other’s houses, not since they were ten, which is when he had decided they were just to old.

Now, they were both seventeen, and Val had become prettier than most girls in the northern district of the Westeros. He was amazed that Jon hadn’t started something with the girl, surprised that he hadn’t even tried as Theon, Grenn and he was saddened to say even Robb had done. There were a handful more, but he could never remember their names.

Now, Val walked along the cobbled walkway to the front door of the large house while Ned relaxed on the front porch with Ice, his loyal dog slept at his feet. “Mornin’ Mr. Stark,” she said with her normal bubbly tone, “Jon up yet?” she was wearing a pair of jeans and a sleek fur ruffed jacket. A plain backpack was slung over her shoulder.

“Nope, but I’m sure you can get him up,” he answered, “Go on up.”

“Thanks Mr. Stark.”

**

Val walked into the house and kicked off her boots, dropping her bag beside them and hanging up her coat, she proceeded up the stairs to Jon’s room. Theon was walking down the hall, coming towards her, clearly, he hadn’t gotten up either and was wearing an old gray tee-shirt and a pair of plaid boxers. “Nice jammies,” she commented, knocking on Jon’s door. Theon turned a satisfying shade of red.

When there was no answer, she pushed the door open to find Jon laying on his bed, out cold. He was curled up to one side, the massive dog Ghost on the other. “It is a lovely Monday morning, the roads are- passable- the sun is shining, practice starts in an hour and you’re still in your jammies, time to get up Jon.”

“Ygritte broke up with me on Friday,” he said almost miserably.

“Ah, Love,” she said in a mock accent, “Thou art a heartless bitch.”

Jon laughed, sitting up, “She said something about me being a turncloak- crow who knew nothing, and how she was the last of the giants. I think she's lost it. Not sure if she ever had it."

“I told you she was a cunt,” Val said, sitting on the desk chair.

Jon rolled out of the bed, wearing an old pair of sweats… and nothing else. His years on the lacrosse team were showing with a well formed midsection. “Yeah, I know. And I should have listened to you,” he told her, “But damn… if you were a man, you would have gone for her too.”

“If I were a man,” she stated as he walked into the closet, “I’d be gay and poking Loras Tyrell!”

Jon coughed in his laughter, “Loras is not gay.”

“Oh he is,” she answered, “You guys call him ‘The Knight of Flowers’ and he has no problem with it, that and his amazing fashion instincts and fantastic hair. Yeah, he’s totally gay. Even if he wasn’t, I’d turn ‘em.”

“If he’s gay then who is he with?” asked Jon in his laugh.

“Renly,” she answered, and Jon came out wearing a black tee-shirt and jeans. He changed fast.

“Wait,” he said, putting a belt on, “Why would you be gay?”

“Because woman suck, and I don’t mean in a good way,” she answered, “And I am far too fabulous to be straight.”

“That is true,” he answered, walking into his bathroom, Val walked out of eye sight and lay on the bed with Ghost of a bit. She loved the big dog, finding him kind of relaxing to be around. “Fortunately, her ditching me gave me a way out of prom,” he told her after a few minutes.

“You think so, huh?” she asked, “Well, you’re wrong. I will drag you by the ear if it means I don’t have to be alone with the leering Mr. Baratheon and his Mistress Nutjub.”

Mr. Baratheon was one of the chemistry teachers, while Mrs. Ashai was an earth and space teacher. Even though Mr. Baratheon was married, everybody knew they were sleeping together.

“Can I… admit something?” he asked as he pulled on his socks.

“You slept with the whore?” she asked, “Yeah, I already know. You’re a terrible liar.”

“Yeah, I figured as much,” was all he replied before they walked out of the room. She was glad that his dad never thought they had thought about each other in ‘that way’, but the truth was, they had. Freshman year, but they figured they were better as friends.

Down stairs, Robb, Sansa, Arya and Bran were all around the table eating cereal. “Mornin’ all,” Val greeted cheerfully. She received groans from most of them, but Sansa walked to her.

“Do you want to go shopping for prom dresses with Jeyne, Margaery and I?” she asked.

“Sure, when?”

“Next weekend,” she answered, “You could meet us here at about noon,”

“Yeah,” Val agreed, “We gotta go pick up Edric and Gendry, but I’ll see you then,” she said.

“Oh, Val,” Sansa said, “I forgot to ask who you were going with?”

Jon brightened a shade or two, “Jon and I are going as friends,” she answered; she knew Sansa would be going because of Willas Tyrell, and Arya would more than likely go with Gendry, whom she swore was just a friend.

They continued to the door and got their things on, then slipped out before anybody could tease. They always left early because of fencing practice that Mr. Mormont had decided needed to be before school. Jon was the best of them, and Val a close second as they were always practicing together; she had found the Jon was an excellent teacher.

**

Jon and Val were paired up and sparing, as usual, Grenn and Edric. Unfortunatly, Mr. Mormon was not here today, instead it was a new sub, whose name Jon had forgotten. “Alright, we have a new kid with us today,” the man bellowed as a very pudgy boy waddled in. His uniform was ill fitting and his rapier was dragging behind him.

“Let us see what he can do, girl,” he snapped at Val, “Fight him,”

She gave Jon one ‘help me’ glance before taking position before the fat boy. He held up his sword and the match began. He was no match for Val, who had quick feet and hands. She had three good and fair hits on him before he could even think. “Again!”

Val cast a glance around, clearly not happy about beating this kid again. Either way, she advanced again, this time, the boy tripped as he tried to escape. She stopped and offered a hand, “Don’t help him, hit him!” shouted the sub, and Val stuck her chin out stubbornly and helped the kid up anyways.

“I will not tolerate anyone not listening to my directions, girl. Now hit him,”

“He was down, you don’t do that!” she argued, “Mr. Mormont said so!”

“Well, Mr. Mormont has given up on you half- wits. I’m the fencing coach now.”

“Then I quit,” Val said throwing her sword down, “You can’t have us beating defenseless kids because it gets you hot and bothered!”

She stormed out; he had known Val had a temper. “Mr. Throne,” Gendry said, raising a hand, “What do you mean, ‘you’re the fencing coach now’?”

“I mean, Mormont quit, much like that little twat.”

“Don’t call her that,” the three boys said together, but the man gave them such a look that would kill.

It was later at lunch that the four and other ‘outcasts’ of the school were sitting on the grass, eating and laughing that the large boy waddled to them and looked directly at Val, “Th- thank you for not hurting me today,” he stammered, and Val nodded.

“Why didn’t you fight back?” Jon asked.

“I wanted to,” he said, “But I just couldn’t… I’m a coward,” he hung his head in shame and began to walk away. Val shot Jon a look.

“Wait,” she said, “Why don’t you eat lunch with us?”


	2. Broken Legs and New Relationships

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, it is prom night and Sansa is treading into waters that she cannot recover from... or should is say 'Stormy' seas?
> 
> WARNING this is one of the last nights that the Stark children will not be facing hard times.

Shopping for prom dresses proved to be more an event than Val had thought, but it was still nice to get out with her girlfriends. Sansa, Arya and Margaery hadn’t minded that Gilly and Ros joined them. In fact, Margaery seemed to enjoy Ros. The dress store they had chosen was huge, and if they couldn’t find the dress they wanted, they never would.

Val and agreed to help Arya and Gilly find their dresses, mostly because she had an idea of what she wanted, and hardly ever took too long in looking. They had set a time of one hour to meet back at the dressing rooms with what they had found. Arya was easy to shop for, with a good willowy frame, most dresses would look perfect on her.

Val had convinced her to stay away from black, and got her with dark blues, red, greens and even purple. Gilly went with more earth tones, while Val, with fair hair and fair skin chose rich colors of all families. Eventually, they all found their ways back. Margaery had already found her dress, as it would seem, for she stepped out of the dressing room in a floor length green gown that seemed to be made of silk. It was strapless, and had a slit running up to her mid thigh.

“Tell me this isn’t perfect!” she exclaimed. They all agreed, though Val was unsure. One thing she was certain of, it was that nobody disagreed with Margaery Tyrell. Sansa was next, and they sat through a montage of dresses, each a different color. She finally settled for one that was made out of a flowing baby blue material, the fabric reached just below her knees.

Arya chose red, spaghetti strapped dress that stopped at the knees. For a girl of merely fifteen, she had the right stuff, even with her small frame. Ros chose a chic black dress that reached the floor, and Val had to admit, she outshined Margaery. Ros had a full, curvy body that most girls dreamed of having. Jeyne Westerling settled on peach, and Val couldn’t wait to see Robb sport the color. Her dress was a strapless as well, and the skirt was made from the same fabric type as Sansa’s, only hers reached the floor.

Gilly, chose an orange and cream dress that reached her knees, it was made out of a silky material, and it looked very good on the brunette. Last, was Val’s turn. Though she had picked up several dresses, she found that she only really liked one of them. It was midnight blue, with a black ribbon sash. The skirt stopped just above her knees, and had black lace over it.

She stepped out of the dresses room, proud of herself. “You look… ravishing, hon,” Ros commented, “I don’t think Jon will want to be ‘just friends’ after seeing you in that.”

Val smiled, wondering what it would be like if she were to date Jon. She pushed the idea out of her head. He was her friend. “I think I like this one too,” Val said, admiring her figure in the mirror, “Maybe some black heels to go with it,”

She felt girly for a moment. Like she needed to spin in circles, letting the hem flow out like some fairy princess. She held herself back until she had bought the dress and was back at home. Val was glad that their dresses had not needed any adjustments, it would have killed her to have to wait all that time. 

After shopping for the dresses, they stopped at a small diner that Val had come to love. “So, Val,” Margaery began, “What is with you and Jon, anyways?”

Val smiled at the odd question, “He’s my friend,” she shrugged.

“Oh, come on!” she exclaimed, “You have been single for far too long, and you two are mighty close.”

“First off, I enjoy being single, I find that boys complicate everything. Second, Jon was dating someone, and he would never cheat… even on a bitch like Ygritte.”

“I never really liked her,” Arya said, “She was too mean to Jon. Anyways, Ros, how did Theon convince you to go to prom with him, and I want the real story.”

“I honestly haven’t got a clue,” she answered, “I guess I felt a little sorry for him, you know, after his dad and everything.”

Val had remembered how Theon’s dad had fallen off a bridge, she had felt sorry for him too, but not enough to date him.

When they finished eating, they returned to their shopping, this time they headed to the mall in the two cars they had to use, because Margaery’s sports car didn’t fit all seven girls. Arya was happy to ride with Val in her old van she had acquired from Mance. They had hung the dresses up in the van.

**

By the time Val had been allowed to return home, she was exhausted. She collapsed on her bed, just in time for Dalla, he older sister and legal guardian to enter the room, her flight attendant outfit fitting as ever, “I have to do a flight to Italy in a few hours, I won’t be home for a few days. There is money on the counter for dinner. Do NOT have anybody over, not even Jon. Understand?”

Val muttered an agreement, “Margaery Tyrell invited me to a sleep over on Friday night,” she told her sister.

“You may go,” Dalla answered, “But be careful on the roads,”

“Dalla, the ice and snow is all gone now, it is just a little chilly,” she answered, “Winter is over, spring is in the air, amore! Love, can you not feel the warm, fuzzy feeling from this time of the year?”

“Whatever,” Dalla replied flatly to her enthusiastic younger sister as she walked down the hall. With that, Val fell onto her bed once more and began to sleep.

It was the alarm that pulled her from her sleep, informing her that it was time to go wake up her old friend. She groaned as she hit the button to turn off the machine, “Heartless bastard,” she muttered at the clock. She pulled herself from the bed, realizing that she hadn’t even bothered changing into her PJ’s the night before.

**

ONE WEEK LATER

Sansa found her friends on the stands, and was surprised at how few people turned up for the first lacrosse game of the season. It wasn’t a school sport, so not many people came to show their school spirit. Val and Margaery had saved her and Arya seats, she was surprised that none of their other friends had come, but then again, Val and Arya were there for Jon, Gendry and Edric.

The game started and it wasn’t long until The Wolves were ahead in points, and The Lions were severely pissed off. Sansa kept her eyes on Willas as he made his way down the field, and a player from the other team threw all his weight on him.

The other man rose while Willas lay on the ground, hold his leg. It seemed that nobody moved for a very long time. All the girls sitting on the bench rushed to Willas, along with his team…

It was hours later, when the adrenalin stopped pulsing through Sansa’s veins that what happened finally clicked in Sansa’s mind. Willas had broken his leg and a few ribs in the attack, two days from prom. He would not be out of the hospital, and Sansa would miss her prom. She was worried for Willas’ health… but she had really only started dating him because Margaery had pushed for it.

She was grateful that Val invited her to go with them, stating that Edric Storm was the only one amongst them that did not have a date, and that Sansa was her friend too. Of course, it wasn’t an official date, they were just friends, as Jon and Val, Gendry and Arya and Grenn and Asha were. Sansa had never really spent time with Asha, but could tell that she was a pretty cool.

The night of prom, the group of friends met at the Stark house, Gendry and Edric received the third degree from Mr. Stark, Robb and Jon. Robb, Jon and Theon received ‘The Talk’ from Mr. Stark, while Arya and Sansa received it from Mrs. Stark. Sansa wondered if Val’s sister had given her the talk, who had given it to Asha and Gilly and why her mother felt the need to give it to her, knowing that she and Edric were barely friends.

Val did both Sansa’s hair, and Arya’s. For Sansa, she twisted it into an elegant bun, with a few locks curled around her face. She couldn’t do much with Arya’s bob cut, so she straightened it and sprayed in cherry red wash out die in some places, completing Arya’s rebel look. Val’s hair was curled too, but she did not put it up.

By the time everybody was ready, the sun had set. They all stood in a group, including Robb and Theon plus their dates, for a picture. Then individual pictures. Sansa’s mom was far too excited, then it came time for Jon and Val’s pictures, during which her cheer faded slightly.

**

Sansa sat quietly, bored at her prom. This was stupid, she thought, I should have never come.

Edric brought the spiked punch to her, “Do you want to dance?” he asked.

She smiled up at him and took his extended hand, “That would be great,” she answered and he led her to the dance floor.


End file.
